From the Parish Priest

One of the great privileges of ministering at a Parish Church like St. George’s is being able to invite members of the local community to join in Church services and events. For the last few years St. George’s has hosted a Christmas Concert for the local schools, and the Church has been packed with children, parents, teachers and friends of the Church. So many schools have accepted the invitation to come that this year the Schools Christmas Concert has been spread across two afternoons on Friday December 4th and Monday December 7th. Both concerts begin at 4.00pm and last about an hour. You are also invited to come along and hear our local children sing their hearts out at the start of their Christmas.

A big question is posed by St. George’s hosting these concerts, namely is it right for the Church to encourage the community to celebrate Christmas when Christians are trying hard to retain the season of Advent? There has been much discussion about this issue over the last fifty years or so, and indeed some parishes prefer not to sing Christmas Carols at all until after Christmas Day. Whatever your personal view, my feeling is that it’s now too late to shut the stable door, and a Church making a stand for Advent won’t encourage people to refrain from celebrating until after December 25th but it will encourage them to look elsewhere for their Christmas activities. We must rejoice that in an age of scepticism and political correctness local Schools and local people are still happy to come into St. George’s Church and still happy to keep the Christmas Festival. Let us make sure we give them a warm welcome and join with them in their celebrations whilst at the same time we aim to prepare ourselves spiritually by using Advent to look forward with anticipation and hope to the birth of the Christchild.

Fr. Mike

Memorial Christmas Tree

J Edwards and Sons, (Funeral Directors) are again supplying St. George’s Church with a Christmas Tree on which the names of the departed can be hung. The tree will be in Church from December 1st and you are welcome to come in, write the name on a gold star and place it on the tree. At the Memorial Service on Monday December 21st, 7.30pm, all the names will be read out and prayed for. Families that have had a funeral taken by the clergy of St. George’s will receive a personal invitation to the service. Refreshments following the service will also be kindly provided by the staff of J. Edwards and Sons.